After poring over hundreds of comments from students, faculty and staff, ISU President Gregory Geoffroy announced Wednesday the current academic calendar isn’t going to change.

Geoffroy said he reached his decision based on the ISU community’s preference to keep the current version, Calendar A, in place, rather than change to Calendar B, which included a shorter semester, longer winter and summer breaks and a January mini-semester.

“The clear message from all of that input was to remain with the current calendar,” Geoffroy said.

The decision was a result of more than a year of feedback Geoffroy actively sought from the ISU community — and much credit should go to him for his level of involvement on this issue. Some of his predecessors haven’t taken such a personal role.

It was also an important (and necessary) gesture to actively seek feedback from ISU students, who are sometimes forgotten when it comes to decisions that will most affect them. The lack of student feedback in a summer decision to move public tailgaters away from Jack Trice Stadium to grass lots near the College of Veterinary Medicine created a student uproar and resulted in a marathon of Government of the Student Body bills, committees and other brouhaha.

Geoffroy prevented another potential circus act by seeking input from the entire university community from the get-go.

Not everyone will be happy with his decision. Members of the Faculty Senate have said an extra week during winter break would give faculty the opportunity to attend professional meetings typically held during the first week of spring semester.

But Geoffroy didn’t base his decision on preferences of one or two groups — he sought opinions from the entire campus and went with the option he found to be in favor of the majority.

Although Geoffroy had the final decision, he said he did not feel the decision was his to make, and said he carried no personal preference into the process.

“The calendar affects the entire campus community,” he said. “And I believe the decision should be made by them.”

Hopefully, the calendar dialogue will continue, especially in lieu of Faculty Senate’s “Calendar A+” proposal that is similar to the University of Iowa’s calendar. Improvements are always possible, and, if a certain calendar could provide more tangible benefits to faculty, staff and students, it should be considered in the future.

What’s most reassuring is that Geoffroy sought voices from a broad spectrum of campus.

Thankfully, he listened.